Arcadia Biosciences receives U.S. patent for high fiber wheat with improved yield

Date:02-28-2020

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., (Nasdaq: RKDA), a leader in science-based approaches to enhancing the quality and nutritional value of crops and food ingredients, today announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company a patent for a yield-improving allele for high fiber, resistant starch wheat. This innovation, which represents the latest patent in Arcadia’s GoodWheat™ portfolio of non-genetically modified (non-GM) wheat varieties, was developed through ArcaTech, the company’s proprietary technology platform.

“The invention of this higher-yielding high fiber wheat allele further demonstrates our commitment to enhancing the strength of our improved wheat platform,” said Matthew Plavan, president and CEO of Arcadia Biosciences. “We continue to bring valuable and nutritional innovation to wheat – and ultimately consumers – through our partnership with Bay State Milling and Arista Cereal Technologies, which brings our high fiber resistant starch bread wheat to market in North America under Bay State’s HealthSense™ brand portfolio.”

Multi-year field studies conducted by Arcadia found that wheat breeding lines carrying the higher-yielding allele produced an average of 6 to 9 percent higher yields, with some resulting in as much as 30 percent higher yields. Field trials further indicated there may be other benefits to this innovation, including reduction in sensitivity to the damaging effects of cold at specific growth stages. As example, wheat carrying the allele produced 25 percent higher yield than wheat without the allele when plots were damaged by frost at the very sensitive heading stage.

The higher-yielding allele is the output of Arcadia’s ArcaTech technology platform and is the latest among a suite of patents Arcadia has licensed to Arista Cereal Technologies and Bay State Milling in North America. These improvements to the crop yield and production efficiency are an example of the companies’ continuing plans to expand the adoption and market footprint of high fiber, resistant starch wheat.